The Birth of Peace
by S-K-Of The Flame
Summary: Contrary to what we belive, our lives are determined by the choices of people around us. When the choice of the people around Naruto are different, how will this change him?
1. Chapter 1 Child of Destiny

Author's Notes: Hey everbody. This is a story idea I had a few months ago. Now, after a month or two of reasearch, I've finally started to write it. Now before I start, there are a couple of things I need to say.

1- This is going to be a very long story. It's being listed as a drama/romance between Konan and Naruto, but these two will not meet for a very long time, so please bare with me.

2- (This kind of belongs in point 1 but I'm putting it in it's own point anyway) Despite this being listed in Drama/Romance, it's got some elements of an adventure as well.

3- This story will not have any lemons. There may a point or two where I'll describe things but I won't write the whole scene.

4- The Akatsuki does not exsit at this point in the story. The reasons for this will be explained a while into the story.

5- This story is rated M for some strong langue and describtive scenes of violence.

6- I'm not going to say much about the plot because I want where I'm going with the story to be a surprise.

Well without further ado, Please enjoy The Birth of Peace.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 1: Child of Destiny

October 10th.

It was a significant day and it always would be. A day to be remembered. A day that had brought such extraordinary events; it would be talked about in schools and discussed by historians for a very long time. A mixture of good and bad flowed through that night. It had been a normal, uneventful day. Well, as normal and uneventful as you could get in a village of Shinobi.

Yes, the village of Konohagakure, or shortened to Konoha, is a village of ninja. They are considered one of the five greatest ninja villages standing. Powerful and loyal, to these men and women, there is a strong sense of honor and respect among their peers, which is rare considering their occupation. That does not mean that all the people who live in the village are ninja however. At least 10 percent of the people are civilians.

On that night, the Shinobi had vigorously fought for their lives. No, they had fought for their very existence. On that night, they had been attacked by an unbelievable source of destruction and evil. They had fought the Nine tailed Demon Fox. The strongest of the nine Biju, this ferocious beast, made only of Chakra, had appeared out of nowhere outside the village. Many fought and died to keep the beast away from their home.

Their hopes laid with one man. The recently named ruler of the village. He was the most powerful ninja in the village, and arguably, one of the most powerful ninjas to ever live. The forth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. He fought the Demon valiantly, proving himself worthy of the title. Unfortunately, for all his skill and power, it was impossible for a mere human to defeat a demon of the Nine tail's power.

With no other options, Minato performed the ultimate sacrifice. He summoned the Shinigami, and using it's power, sealed the Nine tailed Fox into his newborn son. But it came at high cost. One does not simply summon the Shinigami to do their bidding for free. Minato's soul was sealed into the shinigami, leaving his body dead. Worse still, when the Nine tailed Fox saw what he was doing, it attempted to kill the very child it was to be sealed in. Minato's wife, Kushina Uzumaki, did what any mother would do and dove in the way, resulting in her death, but saving her child.

Before he died however, he had left a message for the third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. He had been the ruler of the village before Minato. In this message there were several goodbyes, but the most important part were instructions regarding his son. His son who he had named Naruto would shoulder a burden much greater than anyone could understand. He contained the Fox, preventing it from doing any harm to the village. He therefore wished for his son to be viewed as a hero to the village. After all, it was thanks to Naruto that the Fox remained sealed and the village could stay safe. A reasonable request.

Sadly, the truth is never so kind.

- A few days after the attack, sitting in the office reserved for Hokage, were two individuals. One was Hiruzen and the other, his former student and most trusted confident, Jiraiya.

Jiraiya was one of the three students of Hiruzen, or as they had come to be known since the second of the three great shinobi wars, "The Three Sannin". This title had been given to them as a compliment for surviving a fight with Hanzo, leader of the village of Amegakure. Though they had all but disbanded, Jiraiya still remained loyal to the village. His teammates, Orochimaru and Tsunade, had both left the village. Orochimaru had become a missing nin, and had forsaken his humanity. Tsunade had run away with one of her students and become essentially a traveling drunk.

The two men stood there silent, their attention on a sleeping baby in a tiny bed, sitting on the desk. Neither said a word, neither know exactly how to begin the tense, and likely unpleasant conversation that needed to occur.

It was Jiraiya that finally broke the silence. "He looks so much like him" He said quietly. Hiruzen turned his head to look at his former student. "His father, I mean. Heh, you know what that means"? Hiruzen shook his head silently, not that Jiraiya could see the motion, as he was still staring at the baby. "He'll probably act just like his mother". The two men shared a small chuckle at the statement, though it was not one of amusement. It was a sad chuckle, one you would hear from one reminiscing of an old dead friend.

"Yes, you're probably right". Hiruzen said sadly. While he had not known Naruto's mother, Kushina, very well, he had met her enough times to know of her temper. Bringing himself out of the happier memories, He looked at his former student sadly. Putting a comforting hand on Jiraiya's shoulder, he spoke softly, "I'm sorry Jiraiya".

Jiraiya turned his head away. Jiraiya had been Minato's teacher and friend. He didn't think of Minato as a student, he thought of him as a son. Everytime Jiraiya had had expectations for Minato, he had gone and blown Jiraiya away. Never had Jiraiya dreamed that Minato would have become as powerful as he had, but it had done nothing but increase how proud Jiraiya had been of him. Even after Minato had become Hokage, Jiraiya had regularly visited.

And now he was gone. Jiraiya had arrived only a day before. Word had not spread of what had occurred across the continent yet, so it had been a terrible shock to discover the destruction around and even worse, the news of Minato's death.

"I should have been here". Jiraiya whispered, though loud enough for his former teacher to hear. "I could have done the jutsu for him. I could have died in his place". He looked down on the ground. Minato had been too young to meet an end like this.

Hiruzen shook his head. "Do not say such things Jiraiya". He said sternly but comforting. "He died defending the village that he loved so greatly. The last thing he would have wanted would be for you to take his place in death. He felt that the world needed more men like you". He allowed a small smile, thinking of that young man's selflessness. It was rare for it to be so strongly in one person.

Jiraiya turned and faced his sensei, his eyes still reflecting great sadness but held a look of new drive. "Heh, yeah you're probably right". He smiled a little for what seemed the first time since he had heard the news of Minato's death.

After a moment his entire demeanor changed. He leaned against the wall nearby and finally began the conversation. "So, I take it you've already presented him to the council".

Hiruzen sighed, pulling up a chair to sit down. "Yes, Two days ago, I presented him to the council." he said.

"How'd they take it?" Jiraiya asked.

"How do you think they took it? We were attacked by the Nine tails a few days ago and it was sealed into a child." Hiruzen stated.

"What about his heritage?" Jiraiya asked, curious as to why his sensei had made no mention of it. "Did you tell them who his father was?"

"I thought it best not to mention that part."

"Good idea. If any of the spies in this village reported the fact that Minato has an heir, there would surely be assassination attempts."

Hiruzen sadly smiled. "Your student trusted the people of this village, and you think that some of them are spies Jiraiya."

Jiraiya's expression turned deadly serious. "Minato was a great person, but he trusted the people of this village too much. With a population size like ours, it's impossible for there not to be spies." He then smirked. "Are you telling me you disagree, sensei?"

Hiruzen closed his eyes and took on a serious expression. "I think that men like you and me have the curse of seeing the truth of things." He opened his eyes and looked straight at his former student. "This is not a bad thing, but neither is having faith in the people of your village."

Jiraiya nodded and turned back to the baby Naruto. "I take it Minato's request for the kid to be seen as a hero has been completely ignored."

Hiruzen sighed sadly. "I'm afraid so. Some of them even had the gall to demand he be put to death, claiming him to be the fox in human skin."

"Bastards!" Jiraiya growled. "After everything Minato did for this village, how dare they ignore his last request!"

"Hope is not lost, at least completely." Hiruzen said. "A couple of the clan heads were neutral. Perhaps they just need time to let the wounds of this attack heal before the start to see reason again."

"Maybe." Jiraiya said, not taking his eyes off Naruto. It was silent again for two minutes before Jiraiya turned back to Hiruzen. "How badly do you need the information I gather?"

Unknown to most in the village, Jiraiya had a network of spies that gave him and, by extension, the village a wealth of knowledge from corners of the continent.

"We've just gotten out of a war a year ago Jiraiya." Hiruzen stated. "I don't think I need to tell you how important it is to have information during the years of recovering from war."

Jiraiya stopped leaning on the wall and walked over to the desk, gently picking up Naruto. "I know. I know. It's just….."

Hiruzen sighed and walked over behind his former student, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know what you're going through Jiraiya. I know you want to raise this child, and I don't blame you. This is your godson after all, but we need the information you bring us." Jiraiya turned his head to face his sensei. "I would adopt this child myself, but I cannot watch him all the time. At this time, I don't trust my family not to do anything foolish."

Jiraiya was taken aback by the blatant untrust his sensei had for his family. "What do you mean?"

Hiruzen lowered his head a little. "Ah yes, you wouldn't have heard."

"Heard what?" Jiraiya asked.

"My…. My wife was killed during the Nine tails attack." Hiruzen stated simply, but one could hear the pain in his voice.

Jiraiya stood there, unsure of what to say. "I...I wasn't told. I'm sorry."

"What time we had together was good." Hiruzen lifted his head, looking at Jiraiya. "You need not worry. But back to Naruto. As you know, my wife was well liked among our clan, and whatever law I have passed, I do not trust them not to do anything foolish."

"What about your son?" Jiraiya asked.

"I'm not sure what he would do, in all honesty". Hiruzen said. "I have never been able to read him well."

"You mentioned a law you passed just a moment ago?" Jiraiya asked.

"Hmm? Oh yes, forgive me. When it became clear that Minato's wish would go unheeded, I classified the fact that Naruto contains the Nine tailed Fox an S ranked secret. Anyone who tells anyone who does not already know or who speaks of it in public without my express permission shall be punished severely, regardless of circumstance. I have also decreed that Naruto is not to be told." Hiruzen stated.

"Do you think that's wise?" Jiraiya asked. "He will have to know eventually and isn't it better that he know as soon as possible?"

"I wish him to have as normal a childhood as he can." Hiruzen said. "Let's not burden him with this dreadful knowledge until he is at least a genin."

"I suppose that makes sense, but there is something else we need to discuss." Jiraiya said.

"Is there?"

"It's in regards to his Uzumaki blood."

"Oh yes." Hiruzen said. "I had forgotten about that."

"I don't think we'll have to worry. Kushina never had the urgings, but we should at least talk about it."

"I will trust your judgment on this Jiraiya." Hiruzen said. "You know more about those seals then I."

"Thank you." Jiraiya said. "If that's all sensei, I think I'm gonna go grab something to eat, and then go back to the hotel." He then smiled pervertedly. "Hopefully on the way, I'll meet a nice pretty girl."

Hiruzen chuckled. "You never change. By the way, how long will you stay?"

Jiraiya's smile disappeared. "I'll probably leave after the funeral, then come back every year or so to check on the kid." He looked at the floor for a minute before saying "Hey, if it's alright with you, I'd like to say a few words at the funeral."

"Of course Jiraiya." Hiruzen smiled. "I would never deny you that."

Jirayia put Naruto back into his tiny bed and began to walk out of the office. Before he reached the door he stopped and turned towards Hiruzen. "You know sensei, I can just sense it. That kids got one hell of a destiny and I want to be there when he accomplishes it." And with that, he exited the room.

Meanwhile, little baby Naruto slept in his bed, unaware of the enormous change he would bring to this world.


	2. Chapter 2 The Truth Hurts

Chapter 2: The Truth Hurts

For most children the age of 7, a birthday is something to look forward to. They eagerly count down the days until its arrival, and tell their parents in the hopes they would get what they wanted.

This was not so with Naruto Uzumaki.

At the age of 7, Naruto was no stranger to the harsher things in life. Anger, sadness, but most of all and probably the worst of them, loneliness.

Naruto looked less than typical for a 7 year old. His bright blond spiky hair gleamed slightly, a testament to his lack of an appreciation for daily washing. While this wasn't uncommon for children his age, his lack of parents, or for that matter, any kind of person living with him meant that there was no one there to remind him to wash himself. His skin and clothes were covered in dirt further attesting to this. His clothes consisted of a faded white shirt that fit him well, but was full of holes, likely made from hours of playing, but again, this was not uncommon for children his age. His blue shorts were oddly, the cleanest and least wreaked of anything on him.

Today was his birthday, a day which would be cause for parties and congratulations but for him was somewhat of a miserable day. At the moment, on a day meant to be celebrated, Naruto sat on the bed in his dirty small apartment. It was about the size of two regular rooms. His bed was in the farthest corner to the left. A few feet away was a couch. At the corner near the door to the left was the kitchen. A small oven and sink stood next to each other. Next to that was a smaller refrigerator.

From the time that he had been old enough to walk through the village of Konoha, he had learned very early on that no one cared. Some of the adults celebrated something though. They paused to remember the day that The Nine-tailed Fox had been defeated and killed by the village's greatest hero, the Fourth Hokage at the cost of that man's life.

The boy thought about it sometimes, but it had never really meant anything to young Naruto. He wasn't old enough to really comprehend how powerful the beast had been. To him, it just seemed like a ninja doing what had always been expected of them, defending the village with their very lives if need be. He had asked the current leader of the village, the third Hokage, about it once. All he had said was that Naruto would understand better when he was older.

Naruto smiled as he thought of the Third Hokage. He was one of the few people who paid attention to him. He told Naruto to always come by his office whenever Naruto needed something. Naruto thought of him as a grandfather, Kind and wise, who was always willing to listen to your problems and help you through it. He still remembered the first time he had called him Jiji. When the words had left his mouth, The Hokage had stopped, or maybe frozen. Whichever one it had been, he had been silent for a moment, before putting on a big smile.

It had made both of them very happy, though each for a different reason. The Third Hokage, because he had always cared for the boy. He had made sure that Naruto would be as safe as he could be, and that he was able to live somewhat of a decent life. He had wished that he could have provided a better home then a rundown apartment but it was the best he could do. He had always been worried by how he was doing in the eyes of Naruto's father, how well the son of that great man was being taken care of. He'd always felt that he could've done more, but could not, due to his position. The fact that Naruto had called him Grandfather had overjoyed him.

As for Naruto, he had been happy that he would be able to call the Third Hokage family. He was the only person that he found he could rely on, and the fact that the Hokage hadn't rejected the nickname that he gave him lifted his sprits high.

Now that Naruto's thoughts had shifted to The Hokage, he wondered if he could visit him. After all, the Hokage had once said that his door was open to him always. Yes, it seemed like a good idea. Why wouldn't he want to spend his birthday with Jiji?

Hopping off of his bed, Naruto ran over to the door, throwing his blue sandles on. He opened the door and shot out. He had boundless energy and ran often. As he reached the stairs to the lower floors, he suddenly remembered something that he may have forgotten to do when he had left his apartment. Unfortunately, with his attention now shifted away from his surroundings, he swiftly ran into a wall.

Shaking off the pain, he turned around and ran straight back to his apartment. As the door came into sight, he found that he had been indeed correct. He had left the door unlocked, and for that matter wide open. Quickly, he closed the door and used his keys to lock it, before turning around and running back the direction he came.

Out on the streets, the all too familiar sense of loneliness began to intensify. While he walked along the streets, minding his own business, the adults would do something odd. They would catch a glimpse of naruto and their eyes would widen slightly. Out of anger or something else, he wasn't sure which. Whichever one it was, a second or two after their eyes would widen, they would turn away, as if pretending the child they had seen didn't exist.

Naruto hadn't noticed it until a few weeks ago. He was 7 years old and had the attention span so short that he couldn't focus on one thing for more than a few seconds. When he finally had, he couldn't understand what he had done to deserve such treatment. Sure he was loud and somewhat a prankster, but he hadn't done anything too bad.

In a way, he hated the people who ignored him like that. He felt so lonely. When they ignored him, he felt like he had no one. It was the worst feeling. The first day that he noticed, the first day that he had felt like that, it had been all he could do to go home and cry. That kind of feeling wasn't meant for anyone, least of all a 6 year old with almost no friends.

Gazing at the people around him, Naruto felt that horrible feeling creeping back onto him again. He darted his head around, searching for anything to help him escape the feeling. His eyes stopped on an empty alleyway. He had been in there several times. It made the trip to Jiji's office a little longer. But there was never anyone in there. It came out about a couple blocks away from the Hokage's office.

It was pretty much what you'd expect from an empty alleyway. Dirty, and muddy, with garbage scattered along the ground. The one special thing about this alleyway was that there was a door half way through to the other side. It had this thing near the top of it. It slid open to revel these pair of eyes. Naruto had once knocked on the door in curiosity and the thing had slid open. The pair of eyes behind the thing, had looked around and then down. He told Naruto to come back when he was older, not that Naruto knew what that meant.

He walked slowly down the alleyway. It had always truthfully scared him a little. The door made laughing noises. They were always muffled, but it abounded like demons sometimes. He at one time been curious on what was in there, but hearing those sounds had quickly changed his mind. Plus it was dark and by some unspoken rule of god, all children his age were scared of the dark.

Just as he was about to walk past the door, it slammed open, hitting him square in the face. He fell back, holding his now bleeding nose, with a cry of distress. Looking up at the door, he saw three older men walking out, or staggering. The three clearly drunk men slammed the door back closed, laughing like mad men.

"Sheez, god damn door." One of the men slurred. "Making so much fucking noise."

"Not as much as yer making now." Another slurred. "Shut the hell up!"

The last one just glanced around the alleyway, before noticing Naruto. The two just looked at each other, neither moving, as the two other drunks argued. Finally, the one looking at Naruto smiled sinisterly. It chilled him to the bone.

"Hey, guys. HEY!" The two turned to their friend's voice. "Look at what we got here." The two looked at Naruto, before taking on the same smile their friend wore.

"Holy shit. Is that who I think it is?" One asked.

"Certainly looks like him." The other one sneered.

Naruto started to back away slowly, worried if he moved too fast they may attack him. "And just where do ya think yer going." The one closet to Naruto grabbed his arm and dragged him into the middle of the three men.

"I-I'm sorry!" Naruto screamed. These three men didn't look very friendly and the last thing he wanted to do was make them angry. "I-I'll just go."

"Go? Go? Oh, you're not going anywhere you little monster." The man on the right said. "I gonna make you suffer, like you made my sister suffer!"

"This whole village would've been a hell of a lot better off, if you had they had just killed ya off rather than keep ya alive."

The three men began to kick Naruto. Naruto tried to call out for help, but a sharp kick to the stomach knocked the air out of him and he found himself unable to breath. All he could do was curl up in a ball and endure, praying to god that someone helped him. After a moment he lost consciousness.

The job of the Hokage was a difficult one. It required a great deal of knowledge and patience. The amount of thought that goes into the people made into candidates is a process all by itself let alone who actually receives the position.

Luckily, for Konoha, they had a very patient Hokage. Hiruzen Sarutobi or Sarutobi as he was called by close friends. The only one of his close friends who did not call him that was Jiraiya, who opted for the more respectful term Sensei. He had told Jiraiya many times to just call him by his name, but he always refused. To this day he was not sure why.

Hiruzen was an old man, in his sixties, which was a rarity among ninja. Due to the danger of their work, it was extremely rare to find an active ninja over their forties. It was a testament to this man's power. His skin was covered in wrinkles and his white hair did nothing but seemly give this testament valididity.

He was dressed in the traditional Hokage robes, white with Red clothes underneath. His head would usually be donned with a large hat with the kanji for fire. A white cloth wrapped around the edge hiding the sides and back of his head. As of now, he was doing paperwork so there was no need for him to wear it.

The old man sighed. How he hated this part of his job. He recognized the importance of documents in need of his signature, but the task was repetitive and tiring. He probably signed his name more in one day doing this than most in the village sign their name their entire lifetimes. It was times like these that he would appreciate the unexpected visits from Naruto.

As Naruto's thoughts had turned to the Hokage only about a minute before, the old man's thoughts turned to Naruto. The young child was full of energy and was one of the loudest people he knew. Well to be fair there were, sadly, older ninja that were even louder than Naruto was. However these ninja lacked something Naruto had. Innocence. Silly, maybe, but among people who made careers out of murder, thievery, and deceit, innocence was a refreshing thing to see.

'It's his birthday today' Hiruzen thought.

This day had always been difficult for Naruto, Hiruzen knew this. It seemed to cement just how alone the young child was in the village. After all, who did he have beside the Hokage and a Godfather who only visited once a year? And even then, he never made contact with the young blond, not by choice though.

A small smile spread across the old man's face. He decided to visit Naruto at his house. Normally, the blond would somehow find his way here every year, but he hadn't shown up yet. Not that this was much to worry about. Naruto was 7 years old and probably was too preoccupied with playing to come to the office.

Making his decision, Hiruzen calmly picked up his Hokage hat and began exiting the building, in high spirits to see Naruto. He was unaware how dire events had just escalated nearby.


	3. Chapter 3: Out of the Face of Death

S-K-Of The Flame here. I just wanted to thank people for the reviews. It feels good to know that someone out there likes the story. They also really keep me motivated, so if You feel like it. Constuctive Criticism is always welcome.

Again, thank you for the reviews. Now, here's the next chapter of The Birth of Peace.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Chapter 3: Out of the Face of Death

As Hiruzen walked the streets of his village, he was greeted with bows of respect. This was not uncommon for him, for being the leader of a village earned you respect from most of the populace. While there were always those who would oppose him in politics, they still had to respect his skills as a shinobi.

It was a good day. The weather was what one would call near perfection. It was neither too hot, nor too cold. A pleasant breeze blew that made none shiver. It was unusual in October for there to be such weather, but it was of little concern.

Hiruzen enjoyed his time walking, even forgetting his three ANBU guards, the men and women who accompanied him everywhere he went. It was the standard procedure, for if there was an attack that rendered the Hokage dead or unable to lead, there would be chaos. Not that he couldn't take care of himself, but in a village of shinobi, you could never be too careful.

While Hiruzen was walking by an abandoned alley, he swore that he heard the faintest of cries. Normal people would have dismissed such a quiet sound as their imagination, but in the shinobi world, especially when you're the Hokage, you learn never to dismiss the slightest noise. It could get you killed, no matter who you were.

Shifting his attention towards the direction of the noise, Hiruzen send a subtle signal to the ANBU following him, letting them know that he was changing his course and to be ready for anything. Without waiting for acknowledgment of the signal he had sent, he drew a single kunai knife from a hidden pocket in his robes and slowly and silently walked into the alley.

There were sounds coming from deeper into the alley. It sounded like laughs and clashing sounds. 'If I recall correctly, there is a bar down in this alley.' Hiruzen thought. Unlike most villages and towns, some of the villages more… adult based bars were hidden in places like alleys, to keep the younger children from stumbling into them. This was a shinobi village after all, and even the younger academy students had infiltration skills. Hiruzen remembered having the misfortune of doing just that when he was much younger. This had been before they had moved such things. As a resulted he had pretty much seen EVERYTHING.

As he turned a corner in the alley, He saw three adults standing over something hidden behind a dumpster. The men appeared to be drunk, as they couldn't keep a straight posture to save their lives. The thing that caught his eye however, was the blood and bruises on their fists. Suddenly a sickly feeling rose in Hiruzen's stomach. He worried about what he could find behind that dumpster.

"It's time ta end what shoulda ended years ago" One of the men said. He picked up a broken bottle. The sharp edges gleamed in what little light there was.

"And what exactly" Hiruzen asked loudly, taking a few steps towards the men. "Do you intend to end?" The men visibly flinched. They knew that the Hokage would see what they had done. It was at this moment that simultaneously, all three of them thought the same thing.

'We are so fucked'

"L-l-l-lord Hokage." One of the men cried. "Look, we were just-"

"Just what?" Hiruzen asked with a hint of annoyance. He continued walking towards them and they started backing away. "What exactly were you doing he-"

It was at that moment he laid his eyes on Naruto.

Let it never be said that Hiruzen wasn't a fair and patient man. He had acquired much wisdom over his years, and had learned that when possible, listen to both side before deciding on anything, especially in matters of justice.

This however was not one of those times. The moment he saw Naruto, bruised, and seemingly unconcious, his raged reached an all time high. It could practically be felt halfway across the village. And to those who were close by, the effect was instantaneous. The three men flinched and despite their minds screaming, they couldn't make a sound. Despite them wanting to run, to run and never leave their houses again, they couldn't move. Even the ANBU shivered at their Hoakge's anger.

"What" Hiruzen asked, his voice filled with rage. "The HELL is THIS!" His eyes, wide with anger, flowed over each of the three men, waiting for an answer. "WELL!" One of the men stepped forward, but was so scared he couldn't make eye contact. He would be lucky to make it out of this with his life.

"W-w-well y-y-y-ya see." He paused looking up for a second but lowered his gaze immidatly, seeing the expression on the Hokage's face. "W-w-w-we were j-just fi-finishing-"

"ENOUGH!" The Hokage's voice rang through the alley, causing the man to quickly step back with his friends, as they all cowered. "If you were even THINKING, 'we were just finishing the forth's work'-" Hiruzen found himself unable to finish his sentence. "ANBU!" It was a moment before they came down. Even they were hesitant to place themselves within feet of one seriously pissed off Hokage.

"Your orders, Lord Hokage" One of the ANBU asked.

Hiruzen turned to the ANBU. "Get these men out of my sights. Take them to Ibiki and tell him that I'll come by later to decide their fate!" He then walked over to Naruto. "I will take him to the hospital myself."

"But my lord!" The ANBU protested. "We can't leave you alone!"

"I'll be fine." Hiruzen said as he tenderly picked up Naruto. "Do as I say." And with that, the ANBU left with the three men to Ibiki and the Hiruzen ran to the hospital.

A strange smell flooded Naruto's nose as he slowly woke up. His eyes slowly opened and he was greeted by an unfamiliar room. It was grayish in color and it was rather plain. He took a sniff of the air, trying to figure out the smell. It was like nothing he had smelled before. He wasn't sure whether it was a pleasant aroma or not. "What is that?" He asked to himself.

"I try not to ask. I really don't know whether or not I want to know."

Naruto turned to the source of the voice before his face grew a big smile. "Jiji!" The old man smiled at Naruto.

"How do you feel Naruto?"

"I'm fine Jiji. What's going on?" Naruto asked.

This caught Hiruzen by surprise. "You mean you don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

Hiruzen sighed. He didn't know whether this was a good or bad thing. On one hand, Naruto didn't seem to remember such a traumatic event. On the other, what if those memories were to resurface later? It seemed like an impossible thing to try to define this as good or bad.

"Heh, you have a funny serious face, Jiji." Naruto laughed. Hiruzen pushed his train of thought aside for now. This was no time for those grim thoughts. It was Naruto's birthday after all and it was the least he could do for the boy to make it a happy event for him. "So really, Jiji, where am I?" He asked.

"You're in the Hospital Naruto. You see-"

"HOSPITAL! WHY AM I HERE! WHAT HAPPENED!" After a moment of rubbing his ears to get the ringing sound out, Hiruzen began to speak.

"I don't know. I was coming to visit you and I found you passed out in an alley. Perhaps you tripped and hit your head?" He felt a little bad about lying to him, but what was he supposed to say? That three drunken idiots attacked him. No. Maybe someday, he would be told, but not now.

"I don't remember anything." Naruto said, putting on a face of concentration, trying to remember what had happened.

Hiruzen jumped in, trying to stop Naruto from digging up anything. "More to the point, you seem to be fine, so I think it's safe to say that you can leave." Hiruzen then smiled. "Now if I recall correctly, it's your birthday today isn't it?"

"YOU FORGOT!" Hiruzen rubbed his nearly bleeding eardrums. Someday, he would have to pay the research department to discover how it was a young child possessed such strong vocal cords. "How could you, Jiji?" Naruto said as he put on an exaggerated performance of being absolutly crushed. Hiruzen chuckled at Naruto's antics.

"Calm down Naruto." Hiruzen said, playing along with the child's game. "I'll understand if you want me to leave you alone. I guess I'll just have to find someone else to give this gift I have and have dinner with someone else." The effect was almost instantaneous.

"What gift? Where? Tell me! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please!" Hiruzen couldn't help but laugh at the child-like display.

"Settle down, settle down. I'll take you somewhere to eat then we'll go to your apartment and I'll give you your gift there, okay?" Naruto's response was to furiously nod his head. Helping Naruto off the bed, Hiruzen left the room with Naruto following close behind.

Hiruzen sat behind his desk. It was only about an hour ago that he had left Naruto's home and had come back here. It had been a relatively fun evening. They had eaten at Naruto's favorite place, Ramen Ichiraku.

As the name suggested, it served ramen, or as Naruto called it, the nectar of the Gods. They had then gone to Naruto's apartment and Hiruzen had given Naruto his gift. It was a wallet in the shape of a frog. Inside was a couple hundred Ryo. Naruto had taken to calling it Gamma.

What Hiruzen had not mentioned was how the gift was technically not from him. Every year when Jirayia came to give a report and check up on Naruto, he would leave something for Naruto. Even if Jirayia couldn't be there for him directly. He would be damned if he didn't at least give something to his Godson.

Hiruzen sighed, breathing out smoke from his pipe. He had a lot of difficult things to consider. He had to decide the fate of those men that attacked Naruto, take measures to make sure it didn't happen again, and more than likely, assign a tempary bodyguard to Naruto for good measure. So many things to do and not a lot of time to do them.

Those three men would be executed, that he had no doubt of and no amount of pleas would change that. Attacking a child, no less a child he had decreed would not be harmed in anyway, under any circumstance was inexcusable. His word was the law and those who defied it would be punished. A village was run by rules and those who broke those rules created chaos. And Hiruzen hated chaos.

Hiruzen wondered if executing them in front of the civilian council as a warning would do any good. He hated to use such a tactic. As far as he was concerned, most of the members of the council were adults, and using such intimidation tactics felt so barbaric. But if that was what was required to make sure that Naruto was safe from such attacks then it was a small price to pay. Surely this would cause some resentment among the members and he would certainly face some political heat for this, but again, if that's what it took, then that's what would happen.

As for a bodyguard…. Hiruzen was stumped. There were plenty of ninja in the village who were capable of protecting Naruto, and a handful of those people would be more than happy to take on the job. Kakashi was no exception. Every few weeks he asked Hiruzen how his Sensei's son was doing.

Hiruzen pulled out a file from his desk. It was a collection of reports on several ANBUs. He flipped through the files looking for a suitable candidate to serve as a bodyguard for Naruto. "Kakashi? Maybe, he certainly would jump at the opportunity." Hiruzen thought to himself. "No, I need him for several important missions, so he wouldn't have the time."

He went through several more before stopping at one. It certainly wasn't one he had in mind, but….

"This may be risky, but could serve as an opportunity as well. Perhaps, Naruto could get him to open up a little." Hiruzen thought it over for a minute or so before summoning his secretary.

"Could you please send out someone to fetch Uchiha Itachi?"

It was about ten minutes later before he arrived. Hiruzen sat there, looking at the Teenage ANBU. At twelve years old, he was still growing, but already had a fierce air about him. His black eyes were just that. Black. No emotion, no will. Nothing shown in them. Two scars ran down the sides of his face, starting from the side of his eyes and ran down, missing his nose and stopping at his cheekbones. His hair also blackish in color was combed, split in half at the top of the head.

He was wearing a variant of the ANBU armor, which still consisted of the chest piece, going all the way to his waist, and the metallic arm guards, stopping just past his elbows.

But where regular ANBU wore a one piece sleeveless black suit which went up to their chins, Itachi wore a one piece black suit which had sleeves which covered his shoulders a few inches below that. His suit also had a large color that expanded around the neck but was loose enough to reach a fist inside. Perhaps the most unusual difference in his ANBU uniform was that he wore no white mask. It was not exactly mandatory, but it was still an unusual choice not to wear one.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice Itachi." Hiruzen said, trying to be as friendly as possible.

"Of course sir. I am at your disposal." Itachi replied in an almost mechanical voice that gave even Hiruzen chills, but he showed no signs of this.

"I have somewhat of an unusual assignment for you. If you wish, you do not have to take it." Hiruzen began. "Why don't you have a seat? This will be somewhat of a long conversation."

Itachi silently did as he was told. On the inside, he was curious what his next assignment was to be. The fact that he was allowed to refuse only increased his curiosity. Normally ANBU weren't given the option to refuse missions, so the fact that he was allowed to refuse this one was interesting to him.

"Alright then." Hiruzen then pulled out a small file and handed it to Itachi. "I would like you serve as an active bodyguard to this person for the next month or so."

Itachi took the file, opening it and remaining silent as he read the file. Not an emotion passed over his face.

Hiruzen was beginning to question his decision. The Uchiha's were unreadable normally but Itachi was just plain a mystery. Even Itachi's own father admitted to not understand what went on in the child's head. He could only hope that this didn't come back to hit him in the face if this turned out to be the wrong move.

"You want me to guard the Kyuubi vessel?" Itachi asked, never taking his eyes off the file, apparently still reading it.

Hiruzen frowned at this. Were things already off to a bad start? Calling Naruto the Kyuubi vessel. Well, he supposed it was somewhat of a good thing that he was calling him the vessel and not the Kyuubi itself but still. "Yes, I wish you to guard Naruto. If possible get to know the child. Be his friend, talk to him. He could use a friend."

Itachi looked at Hiruzen with raised eyebrows. He was clearly confused at the request. It was a rarity for him to such emotion on duty.

Itachi closed his eyes, taking in the details of the mission. His face could not be read so Hiruzen had no way to know what was going through the young mans head. "Would I still be able to attend ANBU meetings?"

"I'll have one of them take notes on important things for you. This takes precedant."

Itachi thought for one more moment, before opening his eyes. "Very well. I'll accept this mission."

Hiruzen gave a small smile before nodding. "Excellent, thank you Itachi." Itachi did not respond other then bowing his head respectfully. "Come by tomorrow at noon. You'll meet the boy and accompany him until the evening. I'll have a spare ANBU guard him at night so you can get some rest. That is all, you're dismissed."

And with that, Itachi left the room and began the walk home. Hiruzen stayed in his office, his mood slightly uplifted. Tommorow would prove to be an interesting day.


	4. Chapter 4 An Angel to Guide Me

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

* * *

><p>Chapter 4- An Angel to guide me<p>

Naruto slowly walked down the streets of Konoha. About 10 minutes ago, someone had come by his apartment and had told him that The Hokage wanted to see him. After getting dressed, he proceeded to walk to Jiji's office.

He was curious as to why Jiji wanted to see him. If he had something he wanted to talk about, why hadn't he talked with him about it last night? Well, that didn't matter much. When the messenger had come, Naruto had been bored out of his mind and had welcomed the opportunity to do something.

His eyes wondered over his surroundings. He was in the middle of the merchant's district right now. Carts full of food and interesting trinkets cluttered the sides of the road. Crowds of people spread out among them, spending their hard earned cash on various things.

As he walked, some of the venders gave him the same looks, or more specifically, gave him the lack of stares. He felt the loneliness rising. But along with that, he felt something else rising. Anger.

He hated them. Was there a reason he shouldn't? They made him feel something that shouldn't be wished on anyone. He didn't even know why they seemed to hate him. He had done nothing wrong!

'All of you people,' Naruto thought darkly. 'I'll show you all someday. Someday, I'll be so great, it'll be impossible to ignore me. When that day comes….' A dark menacing expression stretched across his face. Several people in the crowd, both of those who knew and did not know what he was flinched, backing away from the child. Even if you did not know what Naruto was, it was still extremely disturbing to see such an expression on a child's face.

'You will all regret looking at me like that.'

"Naruto?"

Brought out of his thoughts by this unfamiliar voice, Naruto looked up to see the source of the voice. It was an ANBU, though not one he was sure he had seen before. Of course with their masks, he couldn't be sure. This ANBU wore the standard armor, like most of the ones Naruto had met. The mask that hid their face had the face of a cat. The voice was a woman's.

"Naruto?" The ANBU repeated. Did she not know who he was? He slowly nodded. The ANBU was silent for a second, just looking at him. He couldn't see her eyes but he knew she was staring at him. He shifted uncomfortably. It was funny when you think about it. He hated it when he was ignored by people yet now that someone seemed to be paying attention, he was uncomfortable.

"The Hokage asked me to let you know that he is in the middle of an unexpected but no less important meeting. He asks that you wait a half hour before coming to his office." The ANBU spoke. "I will be coming to get you when he is ready, alright?"

Naruto nodded, and the ANBU jumped up to the rooftops and disappeared. Leaving Naruto alone. He stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do with himself. He started walking back to his apartment. That ANBU had told him that she would come and get him when it was time to meet with Jiji.

As he walked, he found himself wondering what it was that could have happened to delay Jiji. This wasn't the first time that he could see Jiji because of a meeting, but this didn't happen often.

He allowed his eyes to take in the sights. While he had lived in this village all his life, it was still interesting to take in every sight that the village had to offer. After all, he was a child, so everything was fascinating to him.

His eyes eventually wondered over to an abandoned alley. He froze. He wasn't sure why, but when he looked at it, he felt something. Fear. He was afraid of the alley. He started shaking. What was so frightening about the alley? He had been in there half a dozen times. There was nothing scary in there.

Yet now… He couldn't explain it. He was terrified. He ran from that place, back to his apartment. Slamming and locking the door, he breathed heavily. The fear and panic faded from his mind. But he could still feel it in the back of his mind.

'Why am I so scared?' He thought. He hugged his chest, trying to permantly forget that feeling. Compared to the fear that he had just felt, he would willingly face the loneliness that he experienced whenever he walked the village. Anything just to never face that fear again.

* * *

><p>"I realize that, Sarutobi, but I don't think that you're really listening to me!"<p>

Hiruzen could feel himself slowly aging. This conversation was heading nowhere. As soon as it seemed that they would be able to finish the conversation, Homura would find another point and begin the conversation anew.

Hiruzen was at the current moment talking to the Konoha elders, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane. Homura was a man in his mid sixties. Despite being a year older then Hiruzen, his face had less wrinkles, but there were still some. All and all, he had aged well, looking slightly younger then he was. He had gray hair, slicked back. On his chin was a small beard. He wore round green glasses on his face. As for his attire, he wore a long sleeved, pale yellow coat that went down to his waist. It was an open coat so one could see the blue clothes he wore underneath. He also wore a white cloak that covered his neck and shoulders.

Koharu Utatane the other member of the elders was a woman, roughly the same age as Homura, though age had not been as kind to her. She still looked younger then Hiruzen however. Her light grayish hair was pulled back into two buns at the top of her head. A long, golden needle impaled the two buns and was decorated with various jewelry. Her ears were pierced with earrings. He clothes were similar to Homura, but her clothes were more in the style of a kimono. Her coat was a dark shade of gray. The kimono that she wore was a pale shade of pink. A white cloth was draped across her shoulders.

At the current moment, the three of them were discussing the assignment of Itachi as Naruto's bodyguard. They were not happy that "one of the best ANBU the village had" was being assigned to guard a seven year old boy, when there were more important missions to be handled. After all, there weren't a lot of shinobi in the village with the skills to take on S- ranked jobs, and assigning one of the few capable of doing these to guard duty stood out as a mistake. Plus there was Itachi's special assignment…

"I have been listening to you Homura, and I will continue to listen to what you have to say, but I stand by my decision." Hiruzen said.

"Are you sure you're listening to me?" Homura responded. "Because if you were you were, you might very well be reconsidering this foolishness."

"You dare-" Hiruzen stood up looking his old teammate in the eye.

"Please you two!" Koharu interrupted the two before it could become a full blown argument. "What Homura is trying to say, Sarutobi, is that surly there are better ANBU for this."

Hiruzen sat back down, looking at his other old teammate. "Perhaps there is. But I think Itachi is best suited for this task."

"Sarutobi." Koharu addressed him. "It isn't that we're trying to place pressure on you, but Itachi's attention should be focused on the Uchiha clan."

Homura spoke, contributing to the conversation. "If they are planning something as we suspect, shouldn't we be- "

"I am well aware of the risk involved in assigning him to this job. He'll have less time to focus on the Uchiha's but I have already made my final decision." Hiruzen saw his old teammates about to begin again and decided to end this while he had a chance. "Now if you two will please excuse me, I have things to attend to. Could you two please leave?"

Both elders nodded, bowed respectfully, and left the Hokage. This would not be the last the Hiruzen would hear of this, but for now, they would build their case. Perhaps they would pay a visit to another elder of the village, Danzo.

Once the two had left, Hiruzen rubbed his face in his hands. Sometimes the job of Hokage could be extremely stressful. After a minute, he summoned the ANBU he had sent to tell Naruto of his meeting. "Could you please go pick up Naruto?"

"Of course Lord Hokage. But before I do, there's something I should probably tell you." She said.

Raising an eyebrow, Hiruzen asked, "What about?"

"Well, you see… When I went to give Naruto the message, he had this look on his face."

"A look on his face? Explain."

"It was … I can't really say what it was. But I can tell you that he was unconionsly releasing a small amount of Killer Intent." Hiruzen leaned forward, his attention fully drawn. "It was only a tiny amount. Not enough to be felt, by anyone who wasn't looking for it, but the fact that he was unconsciously drawing it out is…concerning to say the least."

Hiruzen stayed silent for a moment. This could mean any number of things. Each seemed more unlikely than the last. The only thing that they could determine from this was that he hated something. The villagers, maybe? He shoke his head. It was pointless to think of these things. Once he knew more, he would decide what to do.

"Thank you for informing me of this." The ANBU bowed her head. "Now, would you please go get Naruto?" Without another word, The ANBU left for Naruto's house.

* * *

><p>Naruto sat on the floor of his apartment. He no longer felt the fear that he had felt when he had looked at that empty alleyway. He had managed to calm himself down, though it had not been easy. And in truth, the fear wasn't completely gone. When he really concentrated, he could still feel it in the back of his mind.<p>

He was still trying to figure out why the alleyway had scared him so much. He had been in several alleyways before. They weren't as scary as he had heard some of the other children say. Yet when he looked at, he started to hurt all over. When he looked at the places that hurt however, there was nothing there. No marks, no cuts, nothing. A stray thought popped into his head suddenly.

'Why was I in the hospital?'

A knock at the door brought him out of his thoughts. Walking to the door, he opened it. It was the woman ANBU that he had met earlier. Had it been half hour already? He hadn't been keeping track of the time when he was calming down.

"Naruto, I'm here to bring you to the Hokage. He's ready to see you now." She said. She held out her hand. "Give me your hand. I'll Flicker us there"

Naruto understood what she was talking about. She wanted to use a body flicker to get to Jiji's office. It was a common technique among shinobi. It involved moving at extremely high speeds from one place to another. To civilians, it would seem as though shinobi teleported.

Naruto extended his hand his hand and grasped the ANBU's hand. She in turn held it tightly though not enough to hurt. "Okay, take a deep breath. This might feel a little weird."

Naruto took a deep breath. Suddenly the both of them were swallowed up by smoke. Naruto for a few seconds felt like he was being spun very fast. After a few more seconds, the ANBU and Naruto were standing just outside Hiruzen's office.

Naruto felt the ANBU's hand let go. Unfortunately, he was so dizzy from the experience, he fell swiftly on the floor. The ANBU knelt next to him, examining him. "Are you okay?"

Naruto looked at her with a smile on his face. That whole thing had been really fun. "Can we do that again?" He exclaimed.

The ANBU looked at him for a few seconds before laughing. "Sorry Naruto. Maybe next time." She helped him up and led him into the Hokage's office.

There sitting behind his desk was Hiruzen. But sitting in a chair was someone he had never seen before. But before he could get a better look at the person, Hiruzen spoke up. "Ah, Naruto. Come in."

Naruto walked over to the desk and sat down at another chair right next to the strange person. He looked over at the person, who was also looking at Naruto. He looked like a teenager, except that he was wearing ANBU armor.

"Naruto, this is Itachi Uchiha. For the next month or so, he's going to be accompanying you wherever you go." Hiruzen stated.

Naruto frowned, looking over at this Itachi person. He then looked back at Jiji. "Why? Am I in trouble Jiji?"

"Not at all, Naruto." Not wanting to get into the specifics of why Naruto suddenly needed a bodyguard he decide to say what would make almost any seven year old stop asking questions. Stroke their egos. "You're an important part of this village and we don't want anything to happen to you." Hiruzen said, putting on a grandfatherly smile.

Normally, this sort of thing would have worked on Naruto, but after his reaction to the alleyway, it only got him more suspicious. Why did he suddenly need protecting? "Jiji, did something happen to me?"

Hiruzen kept up his face, though on the inside he was worried. Naruto seemed especially suspicious of this whole thing. Did that mean that he was starting to remember what had happened the previous day? Deciding to show a little honesty about the situation, he began to tell a little half lie.

"Naruto, we've had some tense few months of negotiating with some of the less friendly villages. We're just worried that one of them may try something. So I'm assigning Itachi here," He motioned at Itachi. "To keep an eye on you to make sure they don't try to go after you."

Naruto was still sort of suspicious, but accepted the explanation. But he wondered why he was so important when the villagers seemed to hate him.

"Alright, Jiji." Hiruzen smiled but knew that he would have to be more careful about what he said with Naruto. "If it makes you happy, this guy can follow me around all he wants."

"Thank you Naruto." Hiruzen then turned to Itachi and said. "Why don't you have some lunch and get to know Naruto here."

"Very well Lord Hokage." Itachi stated in his cold voice that made Naruto visibly flinch.

As they both walked out of the office, Hiruzen could only wonder what would happen between these two polar opposites.


End file.
